Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Energy Supply

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure the UK’s energy security.

Lord Callanan: Energy security is a top priority for this Government, which is taking the necessary steps to ensure security of supply this winter. The Government’s British Energy Security Strategy, published on 7 April, sets out ambitious measures to deliver secure, clean and affordable energy for the long term.

Fracking

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of shale gas extraction and a short-term lifting of the moratorium on shale gas extraction.

Lord Callanan: In 2019, the Government confirmed that the pause on the exploration of shale gas reserves in England would remain in place unless and until further evidence was provided that shale gas extraction could be carried out safely. Any exploration or development of shale gas would need to meet rigorous safety and environmental protections both above ground and sub-surface. In April, the Government commissioned the British Geological Survey to undertake a review of the latest scientific evidence around shale gas extraction. This review has now been completed and the Government is considering their detailed and technical report.

Energy: Price Caps

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansthey have to introduce a relative price cap on energy bills.

Lord Callanan: The current price cap on domestic default tariffs is an absolute cap, as this is the best way to ensure that households are protected from the effects of the loyalty penalty. The level of the price cap is set by Ofgem.

Energy: Prices

Lord Hay of Ballyore: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to increase the affordability of energy for elderly people during the winter; and what steps they plan to take to make energy bills more affordable for elderly people.

Lord Callanan: The Government provides a range of support to eligible UK pensioners such as the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payments and Cold Weather Payments. In recognition that households across the UK are struggling to make their incomes stretch to cover the rising cost of living, the Government announced on 26 May a £15 billion package of cost-of-living support, in addition to the £22 billion already announced. As part of the Energy Bills Support Scheme package, pensioners in receipt of Winter Fuel Payments, will receive an extra £300 this year, in addition to a £400 rebate on all energy bills, from October and a £150 Council Tax rebate for households, including pensioners, living in bands A-D in England.

Department of Health and Social Care

Cervical Cancer: Screening

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatestimate they have made of the efficacy of the invitation issued by the NHS Cervical Screening Programme which is addressed to women, people with a cervix and trans men if they have a cervix; and what steps they will take to ensure that the provision of cervical screening services is not degraded by a lack of clarity concerning eligibility for them.

Lord Kamall: We are aware that cancer screening coverage is lower in lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Such inequalities are due partially to individuals being unsure which National Health Service screening programmes they are eligible for or how to access screening if they are not automatically invited. We have therefore worked with Cancer Research UK and Jo’s Cervical Cancer Trust to amend the language used in cervical screening to include ‘women and anyone with a cervix’. The same terminology has also been applied to the NHS cervical screening leaflet.We have also provided a leaflet for transgender and non-binary individuals, which explains which patient groups the NHS invites for screening and how eligible people can access screening if they are not automatically invited.

Pharmacy: Government Assistance

Baroness Redfern: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatsupport they will provide to pharmacies taking on more responsibilities, including referrals of cancer patients to specialists.

Lord Kamall: The Community Pharmacy Contractual Framework 2019-24 sets out how community pharmacy will support the NHS Long Term Plan, integrate with the National Health Service and provide more clinical services, such as advice and treatment for minor illnesses. A range of services have been introduced, including the Community Pharmacist Consultation Service which allows general practices and NHS 111 to refer patients to community pharmacies for minor illnesses.The majority of community pharmacies also offer blood pressure checks and further support for patients who have been prescribed specific new medicines. Negotiations on additional support which could be provided by sector are ongoing. NHS England is piloting services which could be introduced, including the direct referral of people with potential symptoms of cancer, minor illness referrals from urgent and emergency care settings and the supply of contraception.New standards for initial education and training will ensure that all new pharmacists entering the profession will be equipped with the skills and knowledge to undertake greater clinical roles and provision of healthcare services, including enhanced learning to become independent prescribers upon registration.

Food: Microplastics

The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the prevalence of microplastics in food production.

Lord Kamall: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is monitoring and assessing emerging information concerning microplastics in food. Based on current information, the FSA considers it is unlikely that the presence of these particles in food or drink would cause harm to consumers. However, this will be kept under review as new evidence becomes available.

Flour: Folic Acid

Lord Dodds of Duncairn: To ask Her Majesty's Government what recent consultations they have undertaken with the Northern Ireland authorities about changing regulations to allow folic acid to be added to flour.

Lord Kamall: The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Department of Health and Social Care, the Food Standards Agency in Northern Ireland and Wales, Food Standards Scotland and the devolved administrations in Scotland and Wales are jointly conducting a review of The Bread and Flour Regulations 1998 and The Bread and Flour (Northern Ireland) Regulations 1998. This is to ensure the Regulations are fit for purpose and support industry in the United Kingdom, while protecting consumers.Officials from each nation have been in continuous discussion through the review and are preparing to consult on proposals to update the Bread and Flour Regulations 1998, including the implementation of the Government’s plans to introduce the addition of folic acid to non-wholemeal flour.

Coronavirus: Immunosuppression

Lord Tyrie: To ask Her Majesty's Government what advice they have given to immunocompromised individuals who are still shielding from COVID-19.

Lord Kamall: The shielding programme ended on 15 September 2021. The COVID-19 vaccination programme has ensured that shielding is no longer necessary for immunosuppressed people. In addition, the Government has issued public health advice in an online only format for those whose immune system means they are at higher risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19. This advises eligible individuals to ensure they receive additional doses of the vaccines as appropriate.Many people in this cohort are also eligible for new monoclonal antibody and antiviral treatments to prevent the risk of serious illness and hospitalisation. The advice also suggests that those who are immunosuppressed should seek advice from their National Health Service clinician where appropriate and consider additional steps to prevent the risk of infection. This may include avoiding those who have tested positive for COVID-19 and their household contacts until 10 days after a positive test and ensuring their home is well ventilated when receiving visitors.

Department for Education

Sixth Form Education: Admissions

Lord Johnson of Marylebone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the extent to which learners have progressed into school sixth forms at a greater rate thanin prior years in 2021 due to the increases in the (1) number, and (2) proportion, of 16–17 year old learners meeting minimum academic requirements for sixth form entry.

Lord Johnson of Marylebone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the impact on Further Education providers' funding of reduced Level 2 learner enrolments.

Lord Johnson of Marylebone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to mitigate the financial impact of reduced Level 2 enrolments on Further Education providers.

Lord Johnson of Marylebone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of changes in enrolments at all levels of study in further education by people aged 16 to 17 between 2019 and 2021.

Lord Johnson of Marylebone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of any connection between the increase in the GCSE pass rate in Maths and English between 2019 and 2021 and the reduction in the number of 16–17 year olds enrolling into Level 2 study with further education providers.

Lord Johnson of Marylebone: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the reduction in the (1) number, and (2) proportion, of 16–17 year old learners re-sitting Maths and English GCSE in further education colleges between 2019 and 2021.

Baroness Barran: Institutions decide their academic requirements for sixth form entry. Trends in take-up of post-16 education suggest that the increased number of young people attaining higher GCSE grades in 2020 and 2021 has contributed to a greater proportion of young people attending school sixth forms and sixth form colleges rather than general further education (FE) colleges. Higher numbers of young people attaining grade 4 or above in GCSE English and maths are likely to have resulted in a lower number of young people re-taking those examinations because of the way the requirement on institutions operates, however, we recognise that some students with these grades will still require support for their future attainment. These trends in GCSE grades could have contributed to an increase in study at level 3 and a decrease in study at level 2 at FE colleges. Between 2019 and 2021 the number of 16-17-year-olds in FE colleges studying a level 2 qualification dropped 8.7% and the number studying a level 3 qualification increased 14.7%. This represents a 1.6% fall in the proportion of the age 16-17 population studying level 2 and a 1.4% increase in the proportion of the age 16-17 population studying level 3. Funding for the academic year 2022/23 is based on student numbers in the academic year 2021/22. Provisional data (which excludes sixth form colleges) suggests that FE colleges had in aggregate a fall of just over 1% in their 16-19 students in 2021/22 compared with the previous year, which has had an impact on funding. However, the higher funding rates mean that despite this slight fall in student numbers, colleges will see a significant increase in funding in 2022/23. We expect to see only a small proportion of colleges with a cash reduction in 16-19 funding in 2022/23 compared with 2021/22 when allocations are published. Each year we look to put in place exceptional in-year growth funding, subject to affordability, to help providers that see a significant increase in students, and we will be looking carefully at what can be put in place to help colleges which see an increase in students in 2022/23.

Medicine: Higher Education

Baroness Masham of Ilton: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many studentswanting to study medicine have been turned down because of a lack of places at universities in England.

Baroness Barran: Medicine is a hugely competitive course, and consistently has far more applicants than there are places available.The department has funded an additional 1,500 undergraduate medical school places each year for domestic students in England – a 25% increase over three years. This expansion was completed in September 2020 and has delivered five new medical schools in England. In addition, we temporarily lifted the cap on medical and dental school places for students who completed A levels in 2020 and in 2021 and who had an offer from a university in England to study medicine or dentistry, subject to their grades.My right hon. Friend, the former Secretary of State for Education, and my hon. Friend, the former Minister for Health, have made clear to all medicine and dental schools, in joint letters in October 2021 and again in March 2022, that there is no room for flexibility this year, and it is the department's firm expectation that all schools will only recruit up to the maximum number of students as set in the Office for Students’ intake targets.We are confident that providers will make fair decisions around admissions and students who are unable to secure a place in medicine will have a number of other high-quality options, either within higher education or through other post-18 pathways.

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office

Chagos Islands: Sovereignty

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following bilateral discussions at the 2022 Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), what plans they have, if any, to negotiate a diplomatic settlement with Mauritius concerning (1) the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands, and (2) resettlement of those Chagossians who wish to return to the islands.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: As close friends and Commonwealth partners we remain open to dialogue with Mauritius on issues of mutual interest, including the British Indian Ocean Territory.The UK has no doubt about its sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago , which has been under continuous British sovereignty since 1814. Mauritius has never held sovereignty over the Archipelago and we do not recognise its claim. However, we have a long-standing commitment, first made in 1965, to cede sovereignty of the territory to Mauritius when it is no longer required for defence purposes. We stand by that commitment.In November 2016, the UK Government announced that resettlement of Chagossians could not be supported on the grounds of feasibility, defence and security interests, and cost to the British taxpayer. The decision not to support resettlement followed an independent feasibility study of the practicalities of resettlement (published in February 2015 http://qna.files.parliament.uk/ws-attachments/178757/original/Feasibility%20study%20for%20the%20resettlement%20of%20the%20British%20Indian%20Ocean%20Territory%20Volume%201.pdf) and a public consultation (results published in January 2016 https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/biot-resettlement-policy-review-consultation).

Chagos Islands: Marine Protected Areas

Baroness Whitaker: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have, if any, to support the multi-purpose Chagos Islands Marine Protected Area proposed by Mauritius at the 2022 UN Oceans Conference.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: We do not recognise the proposals made by Mauritius at the 2022 UN Oceans Conference. The UK declared the British Indian Ocean Territory Marine Protected Area (MPA) in 2010. The UK fully respects the 2015 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) Arbitral Award which found that the UK needed to have further consultations with Mauritius about the MPA in order to have due regard to its rights and interests.

Mohammad Ghassan Ahmad Mansour

Baroness Sheehan: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 7 June (HL454), whether they have raised the specific case of Mohammed Ghassan Ahmad Mansour with the government of Israel.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: While we have not raised this specific case, we continue to call on Israel to abide by its obligations under international law and have a regular dialogue on legal issues relating to the occupation, including the treatment of Palestinian children. Officials from the British Embassy in Tel Aviv raise this issue regularly with the Israeli Ministry of Justice, stressing the importance that the authorities either charge or release detainees. We remain committed to working with Israel to secure improvements to the practices surrounding children in detention.

Yemen: Humanitarian Aid

Baroness Lister of Burtersett: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to address the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.

Lord Ahmad of Wimbledon: The UK has played a leading role in responding to the humanitarian crisis, committing over £1 billion in aid since the conflict began. Over the course of our coming financial year, the UK will provide at least £88 million in aid to the people of Yemen. UK funding will be provided through multiple agencies, including the World Food Programme and United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund. This will help feed at least 200,000 people every month, provide lifesaving health care for 800,000 women and children and treat 85,000 severely malnourished children. We will work with our delivery partners to ensure aid is disbursed quickly and effectively.The UK is playing a leading role in supporting UN led efforts to sustain, extend and expand the UN brokered truce which came into effect on 2 April. An inclusive political settlement is the only way to bring long-term stability to Yemen and to address the worsening humanitarian crisis.

Ministry of Defence

Nuclear Submarines: Training

Lord West of Spithead: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Goldie on 4 July (HL1126), whether there are existing arrangements in place to train foreign officers in operating Royal Navy submarine nuclear power plants.

Baroness Goldie: The Royal Navy (RN) routinely provides training to foreign Nationals through International Defence Training arrangements. Under the AUKUS arrangements, this now includes the attendance of Australian personnel on RN Nuclear Propulsion training courses. The operation of RN nuclear submarine propulsion plants by Australian personnel remains subject to further enabling work.

Defence: Finance

Lord Lancaster of Kimbolton: To ask Her Majesty's Government, following the announcement that defence spending will rise to 2.5 per cent of GDP by 2030, whether they plan to provide a breakdown of estimated defence spending for each financial year from 2022 to 2030 in terms of (1) percentage of GDP, and (2) pounds sterling.

Baroness Goldie: While the Department does not routinely publish forecast figures for its spending, a further spending review will be required to determine the available budget beyond 2025. This in turn will determine the annual profile for the years the settlement covers.

Department for Work and Pensions

Pesticides: Safety

Baroness Hayman of Ullock: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by the Minister of State for the Department for Work and Pensions on 21 April (151226), what is the timetable for the review on the stewardship regime for professional use of second generation anticoagulant rodenticides, including Brodifacoum.

Baroness Stedman-Scott: The review process for the UK’s Anticoagulant Rodenticide Stewardship Regime is ongoing. The Government Oversight Group and the industry’s representative body, the Campaign for Responsible Rodenticide Use will meet in November 2022 to discuss the Review and will agree a timetable.

Home Office

British Nationality: Assessments

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government what steps they are taking to ensure that 'Life in the UK' citizenship test centres (1) correctly inform applicants of their results, and (2) receive unannounced inspections.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Life in the UK (LitUK) test is a computer delivered test and automatically marked, which mitigates against any potential incorrect results. We are not aware of any cases where a customer has been given an incorrect result.The Home Office undertakes a schedule of unannounced inspections of all LitUK test centres to ensure Home Office requirements are in place. These were suspended due to the pandemic but will recommence this year.In addition to the inspections undertaken by the Home Office, the test provider is required to undertake audits of each of the test centres. Each centre will receive a combination of both an in-person audit and remote audit undertaken via CCTV monitoring. Also, the test provider is required to facilitate independent third-party mystery shopping events for each test centre that will test the security arrangements at the centre. The results of both the audits and mystery shopping events are provided to the Home Office.

British Nationality: Applications

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government what was thetotal annual surplus arising from the revenue raised by citizenship applications in (1) 2019, (2) 2020, and (3) 2021.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office does not publish the information sought to the level of granularity required. Information on revenue or costs relating to citizenship applications is not published, nor is any surplus derived from citizenship applications routinely calculated or published.The Home Office does report information on overall visa and immigration income in the Annual Report and Accounts.Refer to the links and pages below for the available published information that relates to visa and immigration income.Page 161 of the 2020-21 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHO annual report and accounts 2020-21 (publishing.service.gov.uk)Page 152 of the 2019-20 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHome Office annual report and accounts 2019 - 2020 (publishing.service.gov.uk)Page 137 of the 2018-19 Home Office Annual Report and AccountsHome Office Annual Report and Accounts 2018-19 (publishing.service.gov.uk) Information relating to financial year 2021-22 will be available once the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts have been laid before Parliament. This is expected to be prior to the summer recess.The Home Office also publishes information on visa fees, including for citizenship applications.Please refer to the link for published fees, which includes unit costs.Annual Report 2020-21 (pdf, 2906.6KB)Annual Report 2019-20 (pdf, 2224.6KB)Annual Report 2018-19 (pdf, 4194.7KB)

Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansthey have for replacement funding for organisations that had received support through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The department has no plans to provide replacement funding for organisations which at present receive support through the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund.

Asylum: Housing

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government (1) how many, and (2) what percentage, ofasylum seekers are housed in private accommodation; and what the costs were for housing them in private accommodation for each month in (a) 2021, and (b) 2022 so far.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The United Kingdom has a statutory obligation to provide destitute asylum seekers with accommodation and other support whilst their application for asylum is being considered. Private accommodation is sourced through our Asylum Accommodation and Support Services contracts (AASC) providers.The latest published Immigration Statistics detail the number of asylum seekers accommodated in each local authority area. These statistics can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/statistical-data-sets/asylum-and-resettlement-datasets#asylum-support(opens in a new tab). Data is published on a quarterly basis, with the latest information published 24 May 2022. Costs are subject to change depending on numbers being accommodated within the asylum system. Accommodation costs are considered to be commercially confidential, therefore the Home Office does not publish this information. However, total expenditure on asylum is published in the Home Office Annual Report and Accounts, available at https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/ho-annual-reports-and-accounts.

British Nationality: Assessments

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the long-term effect of the 'Life in the UK' test on promoting (1) British values, or (2) integration; and if they have not carried out such an assessment, what is their reason for not doing so.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Life in the UK test requires candidates to learn about the fundamental values and principles of the UK, which promotes awareness of our values amongst those seeking to live here permanently. The Test also requires candidates to learn and build an understanding of the culture, laws and history of the UK, which helps candidates to engage with and integrate into life in the UK.The Test, in its current form, has been in place for nearly 10 years and the Home Office intends to set out plans to review the content of the handbook within the next 12 months. Any review will consider the impact the current test content has had in the past 10 years.Given the intention to review the handbook content, the Home Office has not sought to carry out any additional in-depth assessment of the effects of the test on promoting values and integration.

British Nationality: Assessments

Lord Rosser: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many complaints they have received about the 'Life in the UK' test; and how much compensation has been paid out in each month since 1 July 2020 connected to that test.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: While the Home Office publishes data relating to overall numbers of complaints and compensation, this is not broken down to show the numbers related to the Life in the UK test, therefore this information is not available to the required level of detail.

Genocide: Rwanda

Lord Mendelsohn: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatsupport they are providing to the Metropolitan Police to assist with the investigation of any Rwandan nationals living in the UK who were allegedly involved in the 1994 genocide in that country.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) is responsible for the investigations of war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and torture. It has the specialist skills to conduct an investigations or decide that a criminal investigation is not feasible.The Home Office has a long-standing relationship with that unit and those individuals identified in the immigration system who are suspected of being involved in war crimes and crimes against humanity, are referred to the MPS, including those who may have been involved in the 1994 genocide in Rwanda.

Nationality and Borders Act 2022

Lord Hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the likelihood of an increase in the prison population as a result of the introduction of new offences and longer prison sentences under the Nationality and Borders Act 2022.

Baroness Williams of Trafford: The Home Office has worked with the Ministry of Justice in assessing the impact on the prison population as a result of the new and amended offences in the Nationality and Borders Act 2022, with a likely increase in the mid hundreds. Prosecutions are just one of a range of measures seeking to reduce the number of migrants placing their lives into the hands of people smugglers and taking unnecessary risks to travel to the UK.

Cabinet Office

Kate Josephs

Lord Scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they advised the former Director General of the COVID-19 Task Force, Kate Josephs, at any point about whether or not she should tell her employer, Sheffield City Council, about her attendance at her leaving party held on 17 December 2020.

Lord True: I refer the noble Lord to my previous answers to questions HL736 and HL840 of 7 June, and HL1111 of 23 June. It is never appropriate to either confirm or deny whether the Cabinet Office has had any communications with specific individuals in the course of an investigation in order to preserve the confidentiality and integrity of investigation processes.

Treasury

Fuels: Excise Duties

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to reduce fuel duty in response to rising prices.

Baroness Penn: At Spring Statement 2022, in response to fuel prices reaching record levels, the Government announced a temporary 12-month cut to duty on petrol and diesel of 5p per litre. This is the largest cash-terms cut across all fuel duty rates at once, ever, and is only the second time in 20 years that main rates of petrol and diesel have been cut. This cut represents savings for households and businesses worth around £2.4 billion in 2022-23. The Government has been clear that it expects those in the supply chain to pass the fuel duty cut through to consumers as promptly as possible. Following a request from the Business Secretary, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) undertook a short and focused review of the fuel market. The CMA’s initial findings. published on 8 July, suggest that the fuel duty cut appears to have been largely passed through, with the largest retailers doing so immediately and others more gradually. All taxes, including fuel duty, remain under review.

Renewable Energy: Finance

Lord Taylor of Warwick: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plansthey have toupdate the investment allowance to support lower-carbon technologies.

Baroness Penn: The Energy Profit’s Levy investment allowance will be calculated in the same way as the investment allowance for the existing Supplementary Charge. However, unlike the Supplementary Charge, it will be available to companies at the point of investment. This makes it both more immediate and more generous. Since the Levy is targeted at the extraordinary profits from oil and gas upstream activities, it makes sense that any relief for investment must also be related to oil and gas upstream activities. Such spending can be used to decarbonise oil and gas production, for example, through electrification. Therefore, any capital expenditure on electrification, as long as it relates to specific oil activities within the ringfence, will qualify for the allowance.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Sports: Disability

Baroness Deech: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the remarks byBaroness Stedman-Scott on 21 June (HL Deb col 55GC), what steps they will take to ensure that all sports and clubs fulfil their legal obligation under the Equality Act 2010 to make "reasonable adjustments" to accommodate disabled spectators.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Her Majesty’s Government wants everyone to be able to access and enjoy live sport. We are clear that all sports grounds should be inclusive and accessible to all spectators.We will continue to work closely with our arm’s length bodies, Sport England,UK Sport and the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA), to make sport and facilities more accessible. We expect all sports and all clubs to take the necessary action to fulfil their legal obligations under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments so that people with disabilities are not placed at a substantial disadvantage when accessing sports venues.With the support of Level Playing Field, the SGSA developed the Accessible Stadia document and supplementary guidance as a benchmark of good practice for new and existing sports grounds. It offers practical, clear solutions that will help deliver high-quality grounds with facilities and services that are accessible, inclusive and welcoming for all.

Atlassian

Lord Jones of Cheltenham: To ask Her Majesty's Government whatassessment they have made of the decision by the Australian software company Atlassian to leave the UK and move to the USA; and what assessment they have made of the impact that this will have on their ambition to cement the UK "as a global tech superpower", as outlined in their Digital Strategy, published on 13 June.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: While Atlassian has been UK-domiciled since 2014, its headquarters have remained in Sydney since its founding in 2002 and it has been listed on the Nasdaq stock market in New York since 2015. Her Majesty’s Government does not comment on individual decisions taken by specific businesses.The UK’s digital economy continues to outpace rivals across Europe and beyond. Our technology market recently became only the third globally to be valued at US $1 trillion and in 2021 37 technology companies went public on the London Stock Exchange.The recently published Government digital strategy sets out the UK’s vision for harnessing digital transformation, accelerating growth, and building a more inclusive, competitive and innovative digital economy for the future. This will strengthen the UK’s position as a science and technology superpower.

Private Rented Housing: Regulation

Lord Truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to regulate further ultra-short lets.

Lord Parkinson of Whitley Bay: Her Majesty’s Government committed in the Tourism Recovery Plan published in June last year to consult on a possible Short-Term Accommodation Registration Scheme in England. A call for evidence as the first stage of that consultation process was opened on 29 June and runs until 21 September.We want to hear from a wide range of people in order to build a much-needed evidence base on these issues and enable us to develop proportionate policy responses. We want to strike a balance between the benefits of the sharing economy and the concerns about the impacts on some communities, alongside ensuring consistency of quality among different tourism accommodation providers.